Takk, Mike / Thanks, Mike

Fredag 6. november sovnet Mike inn med sine nærmeste rundt seg./Friday November 6th, Mike fell asleep for the last time, with his family and closest friends by his side.

For English, please scroll down.

Mike ble medlem av Missed Trigger Gaming våren 2013, omtrent samtidig som han fikk kreftdiagnosen. Han plukket opp Magic raskt, og gjorde seg bemerket i lokalmiljøet med flere topp åtte-plasseringer – først og fremst i Constructed. Etter hvert fant han sin nisje i aggressive kortstokker, og han briljerte med monorød i Standard, og Burn i Modern og Legacy.

Høsten 2013 nevnte Mike hvor praktisk det hadde vært om all videodekning av Magic-turneringer kunne bli samlet på én nettside. Nærmest samtlige lagkamerater mente at dette var enten umulig, eller altfor tidkrevende. Noen uker senere hadde Mike laget mtgcoverage.com. Mike og siden hans ble raskt populære på nettsamfunnet Reddit. Sommeren 2015 sluttet cellegiften å virke, og Mike gav ansvaret for siden videre. Mike hadde også ambisjoner om videodekning av store, norske turneringer, og han var blant initiativtagerne til det vi i dag kjenner som Missed Trigger Gaming: Open Series. Et av Mikes siste ønsker var at vi fortsetter arbeidet han har gjort med Open Series og videodekning av norsk Magic. Det har vi lovet ham å gjøre.

Mike har vært fast inventar på samtlige Grand Prix-turneringer Missed Trigger har reist til. Han tok ofte rollen som organisator, både når det gjaldt reise og å finne byens beste burger. Han tok også initiativ til tradisjonen om å spandere drikke på de av oss som gikk dag to på GP. Selvfølgelig var det Mike selv som først gikk dag to, på Grand Prix Utrecht i 2014. Han holdt selvfølgelig ord da to lagkamerater kvalifiserte seg til dag to under GP København i juni i år.

Mike var det sosiale sentrum for Missed Trigger Gaming. Vi kommer aldri til å glemme kveldene i den gamle leiligheten hans med pizza og Pro Tour-stream, de altfor lange kjøreturene til turnering i en trang VW Golf, og det selvtilfredse smilet hans hver gang han topdecket Lightning Bolt med motstander på tre liv. Det norske Magic-miljøet har mistet en ildsjel med uendelig pågangsmot, og vi i Missed Trigger Gaming har mistet en av våre beste venner.

Takk, Mike. Det har vært jævlig moro.

Mike became a member of Missed Trigger Gaming during spring 2013, around the same time that he got the cancer diagnosis. He picked up Magic fast, and made a name for himself by often going top eight at the local game store – most of all in Constructed. After a while, he found his niche in aggressive decks, and he overperformed with mono-red in Standard, and Burn in Modern and Legacy.

During autumn 2013, Mike mentioned how convenient it would be if all video coverage of Magic tournaments were available on one website. We, his teammates, told him this would either be impossible or way too time consuming. A few weeks later, Mike had created mtgcoverage.com. Mike and his website quickly became popular on Reddit. During summer 2015 his chemotherapy stopped working, and Mike found someone who could take over responsibility for the site. Mike also had ambitions for video coverage of bigger, Norwegian tournaments, and he was one of the guys behind what we today know as the Missed Trigger Gaming: Open Series. One of Mikes last wishes, was for us to continue the work he has done with the Open Series and video coverage of Norwegian Magic. We’ve promised him to do that.

Mike’s been a regular at every Grand Prix-tournament Missed Trigger Gaming has attended. He was often the guy who organized the trip, including picking a hotel and finding the best burger in town. He also initiated the tradition of buying whoever made day two free drinks on Saturday. Of course, he was the first of us to make day two, at Grand Prix Utrecht in 2014. He kept his promise when two of his teammates made day two at Grand Prix Copenhagen earlier this year.

Mike was the social center of gravity for Missed Trigger Gaming. We’ll never forget the evenings at his old apartment with pizza and Pro Tour-stream, the way too long drives to tournaments in a tiny VW Golf and his shit eating grin whenever he topdecked Lightning Bolt with his opponent on three. The Norwegian Magic-community has lost a driving force with infinite determination. We in Missed Trigger Gaming have lost one of our closest friends.

Thanks, Mike. It’s been fucking awesome.